2.04 (V) Lead Generation
[MUSIC] So you have this list of names. Great, now it's time to make contact. Selling is a contact sport. Let me recommend a way to think about this. Think of yourself as standing on a small red circle. And there are larger circles moving out from that red bullseye you're standing on, just like when you drop a stone in water and the waters ripple out from the middle. Now, that red circle you're standing on represents the people who know you best, your friends, your family, those people closest to you. The wider, farther circles represent people who you don't know as well. Maybe in the second circle out are people you went to school with, but you're not as close with, until finally, you get to the farthest circle. That circle represents everyone in the world you don't know. It's the cold blue ocean of people who are unknown to you. So when you have filtered your targets and made a list of contacts, it will inevitably be true that there are people in each one of these circles. You will know some of the people you need to talk to very well, and some you won't know at all. Many will be in the cold blue ocean. As you think about making contacts with these various prospects, where do you go first? Almost everyone says, Craig, obviously, I'd go to the people who know me best. And that may be right. But think about this for a second. These are your friends. These are your family. And the advantage of targeting them is access. They will definitely meet with you. Why? because they love you. But will you get feedback from them on your sales message and your ability to communicate clearly about what you're trying to do? No, you won't. And as we will explore, getting really clear and crisp with your sales communications is critical. So where do you go if you need to tighten up your message and get feedback on it? You guessed it. You go to the farthest circle out. You go to the cold blue ocean and you swim around. Most salespeople don't do this. Why? Because it's scary. There are sharks out there. But this is exactly where we need to go. What I advise sales people to do as you are generating leads is spend half your time in that close, comfortable red center and half of your time way out at the edges. And the main reason I advise you to do this is those difficult, hard to get, awkward, and uncomfortable calls to unknown people will tell you a tremendous amount about how tight and clear your sale message is. The other reason is this, if you can make this call, you can make any call. Why? Because you will be crisp, clear, concise, and this is sales discipline. Go get them.
